Drive unit



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 DRIVE UNIT A. M. LEONI Filed March 22, 1922 May 4, 1926. i

we Q Q May 4 1926. 1,583,058'

A. M. LEoNl DRIVE UNIT Filed `Marsh 2z, i922 2 sheets-sheet@ n g i L.. r x

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, un l@ n) /ZMLeo/u' vao , Patented May 4119216. `y

UNITED srATEs ALFONSO M. LEONI, or lPHILADELPHIA,l

PENNSYLVANIA, A'ssIGNoR vTo', 'ELEC'rnoi-' NEvtT JERSEY.

DEIvE UNIT. y

Application filed March l22, 1922. Serial No. 545,801; y

To all whom may concern; y y y y Be it knownthat I, ALFONSO M. LEONI, a

citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at' Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia 5 and State of Pennsylvania, have inventedy certain new and useful lImprovements in Drive Units, ofwhichthefollowing is a gearingand the differential.`

lhave chosento illustrate theginvention asl speciiication.-

y lThe invention relates more particularlyto drive units, for automotive vehicles.

Principalobjects-,of the, invention 1 are to' providea drivey unit in which all bevel gears' g are. eliminated', thereby insuring perfect bal` ance, freedom from torsional twists: and strains, with a resultant highv efficiencylof power transmissiongto provide al centerline supported motor and. differential with the latter independenty of the motor other than` through an'intermediate driving connection, whatever that may be; to provide an axle construction in which the motor being a selfcontained unitary part of the axle is always parallel to the line-of'drive thus obviating thense 4of the torque-arms,truss rods, or

their equivalentsgjto provide a lsimple`,"light andyefficient selffcontained` drive nnitfree from undesirable overhangs; and to provide a drive unit of comparat-ivelyVK inexpensive v construction which will effectively take care of variable loads and variable gear reductions. Y Y j 5' The invention comprehends a motor havinga rotating element, and aI iinaldrive including a differential having van operative connection with said rotating element.,4 It further comprehends a rotary driving ele-A ment, speed reduction gearing directly coupled therewith, and a final drive in-cluding a differential responsive to the speed allowance of the intermediate gearing. It further comprehends a rotary driving element,speedv reduction gearing directly coupled therewith, a nal driveincluding a ydiierential responsive to the 'speedrallowance ofthe intermediate gearing, and a center line ,support fork the drive element, ydifferenT l tial, and jaclrshafts.|l It vfurther compre-y` hends other features of'novelty and utility B which will Vbe considered at large` and in de. tail in the course ofthe following descripf tion, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, .forming apart hereofl inv'whichv y n. Y

. Figure 1 is a sectionalview of a drive` unitk constructed in accordance with the presentl invention. 1

Fig. 2 is asimilar viewl showing aslightlyk modified arrangement-between. the reduction v applied ,to ,an electric driven vehicle, -as being ofspecial advantage and utility inconnectiony therewith although, as `indicated atthe,

outset, it is not so restricted and motors other .than electric motors may be employed. f

vThe electricmotorl of anyapproved type housing'orsleeve-assemblyof which one section 5 1s `directly secured tothemotor casing,

as at l6. A gear caseis ysecured to the'oppo`` site side of the motor. casing and likewise constitutes apart oftheaxle assemblyl v"lphemotor gearcase is made in4 twoparts 7 and 8, the former beingconnected toa1'e4 Y movable endplate 9of the ,motor` casing. and

having a diameter suliicientfor the first're-`- lduction gear, while the section 8 isseOured to 'the end wall orflange of the first section and 1 serves to house the `differential and secondV reduction gear.' The remaining axle housingl sleevelO is connected directly` to the gear "case section 8. For theconvenience. of thel .following description and, clainris,v that .f part of the sleeve4 assembly indicated by the Vnu`4 meral 4L will be termed the motor casing;

that part indicated at 7 will betermed the gear case; `and that part indicatedat 8 will Y be termed the differentialcase.v

The above parts are 'merely illustrativeof details necessary to'an understanding of the invention, which' accounts less conventional showing. V y p The hollow shaft 2 extends into gear case section 7 and is there provided with Ya pinion 11. The wall of the casing ysection 7 re-y vfor the more or i mote from kthe motor is V`Iormed'l with an openingto receive al bearing '12, a similarV )bearing 13 being provided in the end wall of the complemental section 8.`

' Ther bearings 12 and v13 areso arranged I 'Q l Leganes that the differential housing 15v supported thereby is axially aligned with the inotor' shaft.

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in the endwa'll 9 of the motor y'casing and in the end Wall of gear case section 7 to receive ajournal 18 having a first reduction gear 19 arranged between the bearings and lcoi-operating with the driving pinion 1 1, the end .of the journal having a second reduction gear 20.

1n Fig. 1, which illustrates a Vconstruction particularly adapted for' small :speed reductions, the second reduction gear meshes with a gear'21 foi-nedeXterio-rly on the difierential housing; while 1n Fig. 2, which illusaXial with the inotor, it is wholly independ-V e'ntV of direct .connectionwith the power de-v livery element of the nio'tor and isf. driven through -an'interinediate source shown by' way of example as a rednctiongean Sonie of the advantages which result from .this construction and ar-rangeinent'have hereinbefore been `referred `to and others will bel obvious to those slrillfled in the art.

The driving' means, here shown and described as an electric inotor, inay obviously be any desired type of power :delivery ineans wherein a rotating part vserves as a driver; and the Vtype of gearing between the motor v and differential is a matter of choice.

Y lHaving'',(ilescribed the nature' and objects of my invention, I claiinzz--" 1. VA-drive unit including a rear .axle assembly including fa motor casing, a gear case,

osed-bearings 1K6 andl? are providedv and a differential housing alined in such assembly, each being divided frointhe others vby closures for the part, a differential having bearing in two such closures, a motor shaft having bearing y1n another -zof such yclosures to niaintainalinement, a first reduction arrangedin the gear case and driven frorn the motor shaft, and -a second .reduction arranged in the differential .housing and driven from the first reduction with the ydriving element 'having bearing in two such closures.

2. A drive nfnit, -an electric motor, reduc-v tion gearing directly coupled with the inotor shaft, a final drive including `a differential and la reduction gearing directly coupled to the first-mentioned reduction gearing, `fired bearing plates between the first-mentioned reduction gearing vand the final drive and beyond such gearing and drive, 'bearings-in two of such plates tosupport the final drive in line with the motor shaft, and bearings in two `of such plates to support `the 'coupling connections between `the reduction gearings.

3; ,in a vehicle drive unit, a motor, a,-casing therefor, a gear case closed against `the niotor casing, land a differential casingv 4closed against the gear case, a motor in the' .inotor casing, a hollow shaft from the ino-tor extending through the closure between the motor casing and lgear case and hax'ilifng beaaing therein, ya ldifferential arranged in the differential casi-ng and having bearing in the closure between such casing andthe tgearA case .and Ya. further bearing in the =end -o'f the differential casi-ng, a `rdifierentiall shaft eX- tending 4through the hollow motor vshaft, and

coupled reduction gearings arranged in the gear l'case and differential casing. I

ture.

ALFONSO M. Leoni.

ln testimony whereof -fafliX my signay 

